suppose obama had faced down his rival in that first debate the way he faced down hurricane sandy? would have, could have, should have, of 2012. and finally, taking it in the gut. one candidate will suffer a personal and profound loss next tuesday night. either the first african-american president or a man who feels a duty to so many others or the man who wanted to redeem his father's own failed presidential bid long ago. i'm chris matthews. welcome to the show. with us new york magazine's john heilemann. cnn's gloria borger. the grio and msnbc's joy reid. and the huffington post howard fineman. first up, here we are in the time capsule. the weekend before the election asking why is this so close? still so unpredictable. both men face big hurdles to getting elected and that's why it's so close. president obama's got the jobless he inherited but can't quite beat. friday's new jobs report was encouraging but gains are still behind what we need. in a reflection of that, 62% of voters say they would like or want major changes in an obama second term. and on the other side, mitt romney'